The NFL chalked up a victory Monday morning in the New Orleans Saints bounty case when system arbitrator Stephen Burbank ruled the league can impose penalties in the bounty scandal because they are off field matters. Check out the ruling here.

The Associated PressNFL Commissioner Roger Goodell scored a victory Monday when an arbitrator upheld his right to penalize the Saints players involved in the bounty program.

Burbank did ask the NFL to clarify why it penalized former Saints defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove for eight games. Hargrove is now with the Green Bay Packers.

Here is the NFL's comment on the ruling:

"System Arbitrator Stephen Burbank upheld the commissioner's authority under the Collective Bargaining Agreement to impose "conduct detrimental" discipline on players who provided or offered to provide financial incentives to injure opponents. He also upheld the commissioner's authority to impose such discipline against players who obstructed a league investigation. The System Arbitrator thus confirmed the commissioner's authority to suspend Mr. Fujita, Mr. Smith and Mr. Vilma. He invited the commissioner to clarify the precise basis for his discipline of Mr. Hargrove who, among other things, was found to have lied to the league's investigators and obstructed their investigation."

Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma was suspended for the entire season, defensive end Will Smith for four games and former Saints linebacker Scott Fujita was hit with a three-game suspension.

The NFLPA contended the matter should be dealt with by the System Administrator of the collective bargaining agreement, in this case Burbank, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. The union believes the so-called bounty system the league says Saints defenders participated in from 2009 to 2011 falls outside the "conduct detrimental to the game" clause Roger Goodell employed in his decision.

Under Goodell's reading, the commissioner is the sole judge and jury; the union's position is it should be Burbank.

In effect, the union argued the crux of the matter is the alleged "pay for performance" rather than any specific on-field action by the Saints players.

In addition, the NFLPA has advanced the argument that the conduct took place under a previous collective bargaining agreement and is not subject to such discipline under the current deal The NFLPA has filed another appeal, which was heard earlier this month by a separate arbitrator. A ruling on that is pending.

The ruling contained details from letters to commissioner sent to the players involved. Here is what Goodell wrote to Vilma:

"With respect to your particular involvement, the record establishes that, as a captain of the defensive unit, you assisted Coach Williams in establishing and funding the program. More disturbing, several independent sources confirm that during the 2009 NFL Playoffs you offered a $10,000 bounty to any player who knocked quarterback Kurt Warner out of the Divisional Playoff game and later pledged that same amount to anyone who knocked Brett Favre out of the NFC Championship game.

"It is my determination that your general participation in the bounty program, your role in its funding, and the specific offer of bounties against specific players, all constituted conduct detrimental."

Here is what Goodell wrote to Fujita:

"With respect to your particular involvement, the record establishes that you pledged a significant amount of money to the pool during the 2009 Playoffs. While the evidence does not establish that you pledged money toward a specific bounty on any particular player, the "pool" to which you pledged that money paid large cash rewards for "cart-offs" and "knockouts."

"With respect to your particular involvement, the record establishes that you assisted Coach Williams in establishing and funding the program during a period in which you were a captain and leader of the defensive unit. More disturbing, multiple sources confirm that you pledged significant sums during the 2009 playoffs toward the program pool for cart-offs and knockouts of Saints' opposing players.

"It is my determination that your active participation in the bounty program, role in its establishment and funding, and the offer of significant sums toward the program pool, all constituted conduct detrimental."

Here is what Goodell wrote to Hargrove:

"With respect to your particular involvement, the record establishes that you actively participated in the program while a member of the Saints. Your declaration makes clear that the program existed at the Saints, and establishes that you knew about and participated in it. In addition, although you later denied it, the circumstances strongly suggest that you told at least one player on another club about the program, and confirmed that Vikings quarterback Brett Favre was a target of a bounty.

"Moreover, and perhaps most important, you admitted that you intentionally obstructed the league's investigation into the program by being untruthful to investigators. Your declaration acknowledges that you lied, but claims that you were instructed to do so by the coaching staff. Assuming that to be the case, it in no way absolved you from your obligation to cooperate with the investigation, particularly with respect to matters involving player safety and the integrity of the game.

"It is my determination that your participation in the bounty program and deliberate effort to impede the league's investigation both constitute conduct detrimental."

The players also have made an appeal back to Goodell, asking the commissioner to reconsider his ruling. Goodell has indicated he will not rule on that matter until the others, including a federal libel and slander lawsuit filed against him by Vilma, are resolved.